In applicant's copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 930,232, filed Aug. 2, 1978, and copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 933,620, filed Aug. 14, 1978 entitled Improvements in Rail Fastening Assemblies, there are disclosed various S-shaped clips cooperating with a retaining chair for securing a railway rail to a support. There is also disclosed in the aforesaid patent applications an insulator which is adapted to coact with the clip, for electrically and mechanically insulating the rail from the retaining device and clip. Moreover, there are many other various and diverse types of railway fastening assemblies well known in the prior art which embody clips (with and without resilient pads) for holding down railway rails (e.g. U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,530,547 and 2,009,309). In the aforementioned prior pending patent applications, the retaining chair has a recess formed in the head thereof for receiving the clip with the recess in the retaining chair head facing the rail. During laying of the rails on such support members, the rail's base flange may become snagged in the recessed retaining chair head, and it is generally desirable therefore, to maintain a certain amount of spacing between the retaining chair head and the position where the rail is to be placed, in the interests of expeditious laying of the track. This of course results in spacing of the retaining device a relatively great distance laterally from the rail base flange which is adapted to be held down by the clip assembled with the retaining chair.